The world will never satisfy the poor or end poverty. It is not because there is not enough bread, but because there are people that prefer to burden others. A vagrant came to the door of a widow begging for a meal. She offered to feed him if he would help her saw off a few pieces of wood at the woodpile. He replied, “You will see me see it, but you won’t see me saw it.” Judas the man that sold out his teacher for thirty pieces of silver to feed the poor was told, “The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. Me, however, you will not always have” (Mk. 14:7). My wife and I have gone through a time in our youth when we lived on nothing and survived while people that lost nothing and had everything and did not survive.

Politics stems from the Greek “politikos” and it means a citizen or polite and intelligent human being that acts prudently when called upon to serve in leadership. It is the root for police and politician and both people were trusted. Unfortunately desire and need control even the most prudent public servants and far too many quickly learned how to use bread as a means to an end. For instance, the powerful Roman Governor Pilate had to crucify Jesus just to keep his job and bread or even his life. He was at the mercy of the Jewish leaders; namely, if he freed Jesus, Caesar would take the Governor’s job and even his life as a traitor (Jn. 19:12-14). Look at the power politicians had during the time of Daniel when they tricked king Darius to put him in the Lion’s Den (Dan. 6). The Book of Revelation predicts that toward the end of time, politicians shall be the most powerful people in the world situated in modern Babylon (United Nations) (Rev. 17).

The Apostle Paul believed that “God would supply all our needs because of Christ’s glorious riches” (Phil. 4:19). The devil had the idea to have God turn stones into bread and the Son of God refused to become involved in making bread for man (Mt. 4:3-4). God commanded the world into being, why not command a few stones to turn into bread (Gen. 1)? God made a man out of the earth and he could make children out of stones, why refuse to make a little bread (Gen. 2:7; Lk. 3:8)?

Jesus told his disciples, “Many will come in my name and will claim that they are the Messiah and deceive many”(Mt. 24:5). The Samaritan woman told Jesus, “I know that the Messiah is coming and He will explain everything” (Jn. 4:25). John the Baptist from Herod’s dungeon sent messengers to Jesus asking, “Are you the one who was to come, or shall we wait for another” (Mt. 11:3). Behind all these questions is the need for bread.

God chose Israel to be and example for all of mankind. The people that come closest to God’s will or kingdom on earth will live and prosper. Moses was instructed to pass on God’s promise with these conditions, “Be careful to obey and do what the Lord your God has commanded you to do. Do not turn aside from the law to your right hand or to your left. Observe all the ways the Lord your God has commanded you so that you may survive, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land which the Lord has given you” (Deut. 5:32-33).”

The Creation Account in the Book of Genesis places the earth or the land in second place to heaven and it puts it first for life to exist. The Creator separated the earth from the waters and made it fertile and filled it with life and vegetation. Then, God made man to manage the land, the vegetation and the animals (Gen 1). Genesis Two tells us that God also made a garden and a man to work the land. It was too much for him, so God made him a suitable helper. Thus, the world was up and running, or was it? “Cultivated fields are an advantage to king and country” (Ecc. 5:9).

Bread does not grow on trees nor does it grown on its own. Its life is in the seed and it has to be seeded into the earth and properly nourished to produce grain that can be turned into bread. God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food” (Gen. 1:29).

Bread needs good soil and nature or chemicals do not make it lasting or suitable. The command the Creator gave to Adam was, “Subdue the land or ground” (Gen. 1:28). Nature needs human hands and minds to prepare the soil before it can produce grain that can become bread. The soil, by itself, is only a tool in the hands of a master-farmer that knows and understands the content and ingredients required to keep the ground productive. Above all else, he respects the earth and treats it with dignity because it is the only source for his daily bread.

Bread depends on partnering with God. The Apostle Paul came to this conclusion, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So, neither the planter nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building” (I Cor. 3:6-9).

It was madness for the Preacher or Solomon to think that money and wealth would satisfy. When riches multiply so do the people that sponge off the rich. Greed for wealth and money will not allow workers to enjoy sweet sleep (Ecc. 5:10-12). “At a feast, people rejoice and wine makes them happy, but money makes it all possible” (Ecc. 10:19). The Preacher’s philosophy was on target and money helped him build what no other king in Israel could do. Suppose, there was no bread to be had for any amount of money, what would he have accomplished? I have lived through two such periods when money could not buy a slice of bread.